Southern Florida is as much a character in the film as Marley, the story's unruly Labrador. The two months spent shooting the film in the region this spring pumped more than $10 million into area businesses and paid wages for nearly 1,400 local film-industry workers.

But Florida is beginning to fall off studios' radar. A fund the state provides to attract big film productions was slashed from $25 million last year to $5 million as the state struggled with its fiscal crisis.

Now in its fifth year, Florida's budget for incentives is being dwarfed by other states, such as Louisiana, New Mexico and Michigan.

"It used to be we could compete with a less attractive or less generous incentive because we were Florida," said Lucia Fishburne, Florida's film commissioner. "There's obviously an incentive war going on, and everybody's beefing up their war chests."

Major film and TV productions that spend at least $625,000 in the state can qualify for a rebate that is typically 15 percent of the amount spent in Florida. The rebate can reach 22 percent if filming occurs during hurricane season and if the production is family-friendly. Productions also get a sales-tax exemption.

Marley & Me, based on the best-selling book by former Sun Sentinel columnist John Grogan, got a $1.5 million rebate for spending nearly $10.3 million in Florida, including booking 6,300 hotel-room nights.

But Florida film officials say big-budget films such as Marley & Me could be shot almost anywhere these days.

Other states are providing much larger incentives, some worth 40 percent or more, and have no budgetary restrictions.

That worries Sam Tedesco, Marley & Me's location manager, who has homes in Pompano Beach, Fla., and southern California, and other film-industry workers who also live in Florida.

"It turns film crews that have their homes in Florida essentially into migrant workers," Tedesco said. "People are starting to migrate to other states. They're working in Louisiana, New Mexico."

Michigan enacted its incentive package, which can reach as high as 42 percent, this past spring. Already, 25 major productions completed filming in 2008, including Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino, compared with two the previous year, said Anthony Wenson, Michigan Film Office chief operating officer. Another 50 are planned next year, he said.

Ohio legislators this year tried but failed to offer financial incentives to filmmakers working in the state.

But Strickland said the credit would wind up costing Ohio tax revenue and should be considered in the context of state government's bleak budget outlook.

Lawmakers in some states don't want to lose their competitive edge but have grown concerned about film-incentive budgets growing out of control.

In Florida, two bills that would lift the $5 million cap on incentives and offer a choice between a straight rebate or tax credit have been filed in advance of the spring legislative session.

"We know this is an uphill battle. We want so much to make the business community, as well as make legislators, understand this is a complement for tourism," said Elizabeth Wentworth, Broward County, Fla., film commissioner.

State Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, said Florida has to compete with other states for film and TV production, which provides jobs and stimulates the economy. According to the state film office, 100,000 people in Florida are employed directly in the film and TV industry.

"The only way we're going to increase revenue for our state is to stimulate the economy and grow jobs and investments. If we don't step up to the plate and show our side of wanting to invest, why would the private sector want to come to our state and invest?" said Fasano, who chairs the Senate transportation and economic development appropriations committee.

Information from the Associated Press was included in this story.

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